County reports stronger elections staffing, new registrar and switch to shared election software

Washoe County Manager Eric Brown told the Warren Springs Rural Citizen Advisory Board that the county has increased elections staffing since 2020 and that improvements were visible in the February and November 2024 elections.

Brown said the Registrar of Voters office grew from six full‑time employees to about 17 and that the Board recently appointed Andrew McDonald as registrar. He also said all 17 Nevada counties will move to a common voter registration and election management system called NOINC, which has been used in Clark County and should lower procurement and training costs.

Brown acknowledged historic mail‑ballot and postal‑service problems and said the county had earlier tested mailings to assess error rates; he said a mailed sample‑ballot test showed a higher than normal error rate in 2020, which helped prompt staffing and system changes. "When I got here in '20 I got here in 2019. '20 '20 was the first election what I experienced, we had, 6 full time, employees including the registrar voters... I think we have 17," Brown said.

Why it matters: Brown said the staffing increases and the move to a shared election system should improve reliability and reduce stress in election operations, but he also said some election procedures (including state decisions on mail ballots) remain subjects of public and legislative discussion.

Next steps: The county will continue to refine election operations and staff training; Brown said he expects improvements will be visible in future elections and that training and best‑practice exchanges with other jurisdictions are under way.